Here's What Happens To Your Vagina As You Orgasm

It's no secret that many people are in pursuit of orgasms. And why shouldn't they be? The big "O" is one of life's most wonderful pleasures besides a cool breeze on a hot day or a plate full of fresh tacos. Experiencing an orgasm can send shockwaves through your entire body, though most of the action is happening downstairs. Besides all of those fuzzy feelings, you may wonder what happens to your vagina as you orgasm? It's a subject that people are definitely fascinated by and it's even studied at length.

As you become more and more aroused, your body has a sexual response. "There is more blood flow to the vagina, clitoris, labia minor (inner lips) and they all begin to swell," Stacy Rybchin, founder and CEO of My Secret Soiree and My Secret Luxury, tells Romper. "Your own natural vaginal lubrication increases as well." As your pleasure increases through the excitement phase and into the plateau, your vagina swells, your breathing and pulse quicken, and your muscles tense, according to Web MD. Then you get to the climax of the sexual response phase: the orgasm.

This is the angels singing, clouds parting moment you've been waiting for and working towards. It's true that it's the shortest phase of your body's sexual response cycle, but it's also the pinnacle of total and complete erotic pleasure. During an orgasm, your vagina will feel like it's pulsing. The intensity varies for everyone, but it's typically a really good feeling no matter what.

"At orgasm, the pelvic musculature contracts rhythmically," Nicole Prause, a sexual psychophysiologist, tells Romper. "Usually, these are eight to 12 contractions that start .8 seconds apart, then become further and further apart until they stop." She explains that it's not so much the vagina that's doing anything special at the time of orgasm, it's the muscles that surround it and support it doing all of the contracting.

Additionally, Prause says that women who've gone through pregnancy and delivery may have weakened orgasms for a while. "With events that damage these muscles (or their support structures) such as during child birth, some women report that these contractions feel less strong," she says, recommending that all women keep up with their Kegels, even though she says there's no real scientific evidence that muscle tone is related to orgasm intensity. But Kegels can help a whole host of challenges down there, including incontinence, so it's best to practice them anyway.

Many partners find that getting to the orgasm can sometimes be a mystery. After all, everyone is turned on by different things. What makes you orgasm, might not make me orgasm, and vice versa. But once you reach the big "O" there's no denying that it's happening because you can quite literally see and feel the orgasm in action.